Choosing The Perfect Vacation Destination

Winners of our Barbados Vacation Giveaway, the McCune's, share their delight from the Hilton Barbados Resort!

Like most people, I've learned life lessons the hard way. Like what haircut not to get by having a tragic senior photo that will live on for eternity. A formative life lesson we learn the hard way is the importance of good communication. This is too often taught by taking a poorly planned vacation with a friend or significant other. Years ago, I learned that if you're going to have an amazing vacation getaway you should probably talk to each other about what each of  you want to get out your destination vacation. Seems obvious in hind site, right?!

Do your research (Ahem, like this blog!) and then find a way to meet in the middle. My idea of a great vacation is experiencing local restaurants and museums, hiking or biking and experiencing everything the area has to offer, while my former vacation partner wanted to remain asleep on the sand for a world record number of days while turning over occasionally to even the tan. This can certainly lead to some rocky waters on your next beach retreat!Catch my drift?

Help me! How do I avoid such tragic events?! Well, that's why I'm here to help! Make sure that you are on the same page with your boyfriend, girlfriend, dog or long lost brother (whoever!) by having open communication and mastering the art of compromise when planning your next trip...whether it be to Barbados or to the local amusement park this summer. But how does one find out what their ideal vacation is, you may ask?

Thankfully my longing for an amazing getaway and my deep love of taking quizzes online has led me to a pretty cool website,  Best Trip Choices. This perfect vacation destination quiz is great for helping you find what type of traveler you are so you can better understand each other and what trips work best for you and your travel buddies. I could only have wished we consulted this site or similar prior to planning our trip. It certainly would have saved a lot of energy in planning each other's demise! Personally, I am a "Centric Venturer," which, from this site seems to be a pretty common one. It also lists the top 30 Places for you to consider internationally and domestically. My recommended travel destinations include anywhere from Oregon to Brazil which seems a bit broad, but I'm also a bit broad myself... mostly in the shoulders, but I think I carry it well. But, I digress...Moving on.

A couple who certainly had their eyes on the same prize (and destination) were Marlene & David McCune, who won our Barbados Trip Giveaway last year! They were nice enough to send us this awesome postcard (image) and share the excitement from their trip with us! The McCune's stayed at the amazingly beautiful Hilton Barbados Resort care of Hapari Swimwear after their entry was drawn from hundreds of submissions. The Hilton Barbados Resort was the scene of our 2013 photoshoot and will be a favorite of Hapari for a very long time.

Now that you've taken the quiz, researched your destination and planned for the most amazing getaway this summer, you can pack your Hapari Swimwear and some sunscreen to hit the open waves, the hidden coves and much, much more!